Former Mount Olive school superintendent's whistleblower lawsuit heads to trial

A 2022 whistleblower lawsuit brought by former Mount Olive School Superintendent Robert Zywicki against several district officials last year appears to be moving forward to trial.

Following long delays due to a backup of judicial appointments in New Jersey, state Superior Court Judge Louis Sceusi late last month denied a motion of dismissal filed by Board of Education member Anthony Strillacci and former board members Antoine Gayles, Anthony Giordano and William Robinson.

Sceusi's denial found most of the defendant's arguments for dismissal "unpersuasive" and ruled that Zywicki had "met his prima facie case" for claims in his lawsuit.

Those claims allege the board violated the law in its actions against the former superintendent and interfered with his job. Zywicki's actions before his suspension constituted "whistleblowing" under the law, Sceusi wrote, adding, "There is a causal connection between the whistle-blowing activity and the adverse employment action."

The judge found 'whistle-blowing activity' by Zywicki

"Plaintiff has demonstrated prima facie case showing he reasonably believed that his employer's conduct violated the School Ethics Act, he reported these violations by performing a whistle-blowing activity described in N.J.S.A. 34:19-3 and he suffered an adverse action as a direct result," Sceusi said in his decision.

Additional counts that Gayles defamed Zywicki were dismissed.

Sceusi's denial also permitted the filing of a third amended complaint by Zywicki that summarizes his first three filings and adds additional defendants, including former board members Elizabeth Ouimet and Christopher Zeier, present members Jennifer Aquino and Louisa Melendez and board architect Anthony Gianforcaro.

The amended complaint, filed on April 1, will move forward with discovery pending a trial date, unless a settlement is not reached between the parties.

"We welcome the court's lengthy decision, which we consider to be correct," Zywicki said on Tuesday. "We eagerly anticipate the upcoming proceedings during which the board defendants will have to provide sworn testimony regarding the retaliatory events that unfolded in violation of my employment contract and my civil rights.”

Giordano and Robinson lost their bids for re-election in November. Gayles declined to run for re-election, opting instead to run for mayor, a race he lost.

Strillacci's status with the board is unclear. He resigned at the board's meeting on Feb. 12 after the board took action to terminate its then-attorney, Marc Zitomer. Strillacci attempted to rescind his resignation at the next meeting, board minutes state. He was told he could not but also informed that he could file for the board opening created by his departure. He is still identified as a board member on the district website.

The board also voted to rescind Zitomer's termination at the Feb. 12 meeting, after which the attorney resigned.

Zywicki was hired in 2018 and his contract was renewed in 2018 and 2019. Public records listed his annual salary at $237,350. The K-12 Mount Olive district serves 4,752 students in four elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.

Why superintendent says he was suspended

His complaint outlines a pattern of what he calls retaliation for disciplining a senior member of the district's administrative staff in the spring of 2022.

He first took legal action on Oct. 28, 2022, after the board had suspended him with pay on Oct. 10. Zywicki resigned in April 2023 after the board suspended his pay and benefits, he said.

The lawsuit stated the board violated the state's Open Public Meetings Act while voting to suspend him in a closed session. Zywicki also filed tort claims stating his intention to sue school board members Antoine Gayles and William Robinson for $5.13 million each.

Since then, three amended complaints have detailed further allegations against the board.

Lawsuit seeks 'multi-million dollar damages'

Summarizing those allegations, the lawsuit seeks "compensation for multi-million-dollar damages incurred" by Zywicki "as a result of an orchestrated scheme by the defendants to punish him and destroy his reputation because he called to the attention of the Board of Education, the Board President [Strillacci at the time] and Board Counsel [Zitomer], to ongoing violations of policy, code and good practice."

Specifically, Zywicki alleged the retaliation began in the fall of 2022 when, court papers state, then-board president Strillacci directed Zitomer to "pressure" Zywicki to withdraw his complaints under the threat of "adverse employment action if he did not."

Harassment allegations also include an attempt to "extort" Zywicki into retiring, "trumped up" tenure charges and "bogus" investigations. It also claims Gayles and Robinson acted as "public criers," spreading the word of the suspension "despite the fact that Zywicki's employment was a confidential personnel matter on which there was no public action."

Among several other accusations against specific board members, Zywicki alleged Strillacci conducted improper meetings with members of the administration "at his store" to coordinate personnel actions. These meetings, he said, took place after Strillacci pressured him "privately and publicly" to secure donations for a new scoreboard project.

The amended complaint does not list specific dollar figures, but seeks "compensatory and punitive damages, interest, costs, attorney's fees and such other relief as the court deems appropriate."

Board accused Zywicki of double-dipping, letter says

Mount Olive District officials have yet to make public the allegations against Zywickii that led to their suspension vote.

But a letter to the district from Zywicki's attorney, Stephen Edelstein, responding to tenure charges brought against him by board member Aquino, details some of those allegations.

They include allegations that Zywicki "double-dipped" on several occasions, including "numerous out-of-district, in-services days" while working with the Rutgers Center For Effective School Practices without taking vacation or personal days. Edelstein's letter documents timelines and other evidence to refute each alleged incident.

Another charge involves a conflict between Zywicki and architect Anthony Gianfocaro about funding for the $600,000 scoreboard project and a recording of a private conversation that allegedly included Zywicki pressuring the architect for a monetary contribution to the project.

Zywicki admits to asking Gianfocaro for a donation but says he did so at the bidding of Gayles.

'Retaliatory vendetta'

The district responded to Sceusi's denial and the amended complaint on Tuesday with a statement saying it “denies all claims and looks forward to presenting its case in court.“ The statement from the district office was signed by current Superintendent Sumit Bangia, and Board President Lisa Narcise.

Yet in March of 2023, Narcise filed a petition of appeal with the state Department of Education that supported many of Zywicki's allegations, including that the results of a special audit ordered by Zywicki in the spring of 2022 were not shared with the board and have not been posted on the district website.

The Narcise appeal also alleged that Zitomer "coerced" the board into a unanimous vote to re-affirm Zywicki's suspension and that in 2023, while serving as board president, Gayles authorized Zitomer to hire a private investigator to investigate Zywicki's family.

Zywicki said Zitomer has reason to retaliate against him due to their conflicts when Zitomer also was employed as the attorney for the Sparta District while Zywicki's children were enrolled there.

Narcise concluded her appeal by writing she believed the board's actions were "the culmination of a retaliatory vendetta for protected whistleblowing activities." She also asked for the state to reinstate Zywicki as superintendent.

Clarification: A prior version of this story stated that the Mount Olive Board of Education terminated Mark Zitomer as its attorney. In fact, meeting minutes show, the board voted to rescind that termination at its Feb. 12 meeting, after which Zitomer officially resigned.

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Former Mount Olive schools whistleblower lawsuit goes to trial